THEATRES in the Bradford district are preparing to re-open, with Covid safety measures in place.

St George’s Hall is the first of Bradford Theatres venues to re-open, with a “mix of socially distanced and full capacity events” throughout the summer, and one-way systems in place. The concert hall re-opens on Friday, June 18 with a socially distanced comedy gig by Billy Pearce.

The Alhambra is due to open on September 7, with 9 to 5 the Musical, and King’s Hall in Ilkley on July 1 with poet and comic John Cooper Clarke. Safety advice will be on bradford-theatres.co.uk

Bingley Arts Centre re-opened its Community Cinema this week and will screen films including Military Wives and Chicago over coming weeks. Bingley Little Theatre returns to the venue on July 21 with Time To Move On, an evening of comedy and song, from July21-24. Written and directed by Sally Edwards, a BLT member and director of its Kaleidoscope Youth Theatre, it’s described as “the perfect post-pandemic tonic,” with music by Katy Grainger and performers from BLT and Kaleidoscope.

Ian Smithson at BLT said work has been underway to make the venue safe so audiences feel comfortable returning to indoor entertainment: “We have socially distanced seating and a one-way system, and people will wear face masks to get to seats. There are hand sanitisers and a heavy duty disinfectant spray gun will be used to clean the whole building between events.”

Bradford Playhouse re-opens with Mighty Atoms, July 14-17. Auditions for the play - about five women taking part in an unlicensed boxing match - were held online. “Everyone was up for the challenge, we have an amazing cast”, said director David Ayres. “As well as rehearsing via Zoom, they had to learn to box using videos.”

Live music returns to Saltaire this weekend with singer/songwriter/guitarist Martin Simpson. On Friday he re-opens The Live Room at Caroline Street Social Club, after 14 months with no live music apart from a brief return last autumn. Live Room organiser Hilary Booth said: “We managed to keep in touch with our audience via online concerts from artists’ homes, featuring musicians from the UK, Canada, the USA, Australia and Sweden. We were incredibly proud to put over £25,000 in the pockets of artists struggling with no live income, but there’s no substitute for live music in front of an audience. We’ve missed seeing our regulars and can’t wait to get started again.” With many shows having been rescheduled, and new shows booked, The Live Room has a full programme for 2021 and well into 2022. Visit theliveroom.info